Realty bites: Chennai sales not express

CHENNAI: The first residential realty market to rebound in early 2010 from the 2008 slump experienced a 200% plus appreciation over the past three years. But Chennai isn’t insulated from the present downturn. Builders, who a year ago sold 30 to 40 suburban units a month are struggling to touch double digits.

Statistics put out by realty market analysts are often disputed by builders. A study by consultant Jones Lang LaSalle is worth noting.

Chennai’s unsold housing stock stands at a bothersome 45,000 units, it says. India’s apex body of builders, Credai, disputes this. Credai’s Prakash Challa says: “We did a count of completed unsold flats in Chennai and suburbs. It’s about 4,500. JLL apparently counted projects on the outskirts without checking how many were complete. A builder who started an 8,000-apartment project a year ago, will take eight years to complete it. It’s unfair to list 8,000 units as unsold when the first phase construction of 1,000 flats is still on”.

Even in a slow market, some builders do volumes. City builder Akshaya got 241 bookings for a new project in August over four days. It was below his target of selling all 600 flats.

NRI enquiries are up by 40% since the rupee slide in May, but not many are converting into sales, says T Chitty Babu, chairman of CREDAI’s grievance redressal committee.

CHENNAI: Dewakar G is looking to shift his home loan to another bank or housing finance company (HFC). Currently, he pays an equated monthly instalment (EMI) of Rs 26,048 on a home loan of Rs 22 lakh - which works out to Rs 1,184 per lakh.

CHENNAI: The highways department has finalised the alignment of the new link road between East Coast Road (ECR) and Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR). The final decision was made by a steering committee with top officials from the highways, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), Chennai Corporation and police.

CHENNAI: All low tension power consumers wanting to extend their houses by more than 2,000 sqft will now have to get new power connections for construction activity. Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) on September 3 ordered that house owners should not use their existing connections for construction purposes.

CHENNAI: BBCL, a Vummidi Enterprise, has launched the “Navarathina” a residential project in Ambattur to the west of Chennai. The project offers 144 apartments on a 2.25-acre plot. The price is pegged at Rs 4,200 a sq. ft for the 1- to 3-bedroom apartments.

CHENNAI: Your house reflects the person you are. While interior decorators and architects can lend a professional touch, it is important that you are involved in every step of the way so that your house becomes your cosy home. The satisfaction you derive when you sit back and absorb every corner is unmatchable.